Chapter 14: Part 4 - Sly of the Tiger

Author's note: This is a birthday gift for ssklarolinewrites who asked me to revisit the underground business world I created for another spicy Klaroline exchange. Happy birthday, Lauren! She's a fantastic writer and a wonderful friend and I highly recommend you check out her stuff! Previous chapters set in this world are: Chapters 2, 6, and 9. In this installment, Caroline is once again furious with sneaky hybrid Klaus' shady business dealings. Sparks fly when they "workout" a compromise…

Warning: Smutty times to be had!

"Blood, sweat, and respect. The first two you give, last one you earn."

— The Rock

The steady smack as Caroline's fist made contact with her opponent again and again drew Klaus like a magnet. He was careful to remain undetected as he easily scaled the red brick walls with his hybrid claws and silently landed on one of the steel beams high above the arena where Caroline's wildly successful Fang Fights were held. Positioning himself directly above Caroline and her sparring partner, he had an enviable view of his sometime-lover-but-more-often-rival as her sweat-slicked body worked out her latest frustrations. He trained his supernatural hearing toward their conversation and smirked at what he heard.

"I mean it, Kat! This time that self-entitled, hybrid asshat has gone too far!" Her indignant yells echoed throughout the cavernous room as she landed a particularly vicious kick to her brunette opponent's torso, making her curls fly from her face as she reeled from the strength of Caroline's blow.

"You say that every time he gets you worked up," Kat countered, swearing as she failed to land an uppercut underneath that stubborn chin of Caroline's.

Klaus' dimples deepened as he picked up on the emphasis of Kat's words. Worked up. He knew he wasn't the only one affected by their little trysts. Caroline liked to run hot and cold with him, staying coolly detached once their explosive encounters had run their course, but he was onto her. His long game was working and he just needed to keep insinuating himself into her life. His latest attempt seemed to be working, judging by Caroline's ire. He admired the long, lean lines of her body as her muscles flowed underneath the sexy little workout number she was wearing.

"Seriously?! Even you have to admit that what that dimpled weasel is attempting now has crossed a line," Caroline growled, dodging another of Kat's fierce jabs. "Klaus Mikaelson Presents Were-Wrestling Wars is quite possibly the most desperate, self-indulgent, pathetic bit of advertising I've ever encountered!"

"So he's trying to start his own underground fighting ring — who cares? It's not like he's got your connections to pull something like that off. He can't even get the right permits thanks to your deal with the mayor. Plus, the fact that Kol, the idiot boy wonder, keeps screwing his way into more trouble than his brothers can rescue him from," Kat said confidently, smiling wickedly when she successfully landed a jab to her boss' left cheek.

Klaus grimaced at her words, silently recalling this last bout of trouble that Kol had caused in which he had been caught with two water nymphs, the mayor's barely-legal goddaughter, April, and a scandalous amount of cherry Jell-O in a hot tub. Kol's cheeky grin as he explained to his brothers that he was making Jacuzzi Jell-O salad had Klaus torn between irritation and mirth, especially when he saw how Elijah's eye twitched ferociously as he tried to diplomatically arrange for the water nymphs to take down the resulting Cooking with Kol video from their social media sites.

"Exactly," Caroline yelled in exasperation, her right cross getting sloppy. "Spoiled hybrid can't play on my level, so why is he even bothering? This whole thing is just his clumsy, immature schoolboy way to get my attention!"

He felt his cheeks flush at her harsh words, embarrassed that she saw through his carefully planned schemes. He thought he had been so clever with his underhanded business dealings that occasionally intertwined with her own in ways that would somewhat hinder her own operations until she was forced to seek him out. A small smile touched his lips as he admitted to himself that this latest business venture was considerably less subtle than his others.

Kat's sly response caught his attention. "Except you enjoy his clumsy attention. Why else would you go out of your way so many times to help him? Last night, for example…"

Caroline rolled her eyes and sharply dug her knee into Kat's back before easily flipping her. "That was nothing," she insisted in a high-pitched tone.

Last night? Klaus eagerly leaned forward on the steel beam, anxious to hear more. In his haste, he nearly lost his grip on the bar and almost fell the 100 feet or so to where the women were sparring. Shaking his head at his confounding clumsiness whenever he was in close proximity to his blonde vixen, he redistributed his weight to get more comfortable on his perch.

"It was something," Kat insisted, sweeping her right leg in a wide arc and nearly knocking Caroline off of her feet. "Davina, Elena and I traipsed across that disgusting swamp to the Sabine River to confront that clan of dryads who'd started selling white oak lumber to New Orleans builders to subtly surround the Originals with the one weapon that could kill them."

"It's bad for business when one misguided, dumbass supernatural group targets the Originals," Caroline protested with a huff, delivering a roundhouse kick that Kat swiftly dodged.

"Sure," Kat said dryly. "That's why you and Bonnie burned down their entire woods, salted the earth so nothing would ever grow there again, and then hung their skulls like lanterns in the weeping willows that surrounded what was once their domain. That's completely rational just business logic."

Klaus was absolutely stunned by what he had heard. Caroline had clearly gone out of her way to protect him and his family. And, from the way her friend spoke, it sounded like this was a regular occurrence. He had to know more. Without another thought, he silently pushed off of the railing high above the arena and landed gracefully between the two startled women. Smirking at their stunned expressions, he ran a hand through his dirty blonde curls and said, "Forgive the intrusion, but I must admit I myself am rather keen to hear more about this peculiar just business logic of Caroline's."

Caroline hastily straightened her spine, her hands twitching as though she wanted to quickly pat down her sweaty blonde strands. She glared at Klaus and said, "Oh look Kat, Vince McMahon has graced us with his presence."

He bristled at her mockery and retorted, "Envy is such a petty look on you, love. This new sporting event will be the epitome of tasteful elegance."

Cocking an eyebrow, Caroline responded wryly, "Yes, Were-Wrestling Wars just oozes dignity. As I'm sure your wrestlers will embody the epitome of tasteful elegance prancing around in their neon speedos, tights and masks." She flashed him an impish grin as she asked, "Tell me, will they all wear capes, or will you reserve that honor for yourself?"

Kat snorted, adding "Maybe his stage name will be The Hybrid."

"Oooh, Hybridmania," Caroline responded with a giggle that led to a gleeful high-five between the two women.

Reddening from the women's teasing, Klaus bit out, "Many prominent werewolf families are eager to participate. In fact, the Lockwoods have pledged some of their best fighters for the opening matches."

Caroline crossed her arms in irritation. "Oh really? And what's Tyler's stage name — The Incredible Disappointment? Or maybe Wolfy Washout?"

Klaus felt himself become immediately incensed at the implication that Caroline spoke from personal experience about the boy. He didn't care that he was being impulsively irrational; Caroline was his. He planned to give her a thorough demonstration of this fact. Stepping forward, his voice dangerously low, he growled, "The boy's name is irrelevant considering the limited amount of time he has left now."

Kat burst out laughing as she observed his obvious jealousy. "Don't be ridiculous. Some of the girls like to kiss and tell — especially when there's so little to tell. Calm your pants, hybrid. Boss Lady may have you by the short and curlies, but you better believe you're the only one getting a front row seat to her clambake."

"Katerina!" Caroline's indignant shout echoed throughout the arena as she emphasized her fighter's full name to illustrate her aggravation. She pointed toward the exit, favoring Kat with her fiercest glare. "Out!"

Laughing at Caroline's crimson cheeks, she held up her hands in surrender. Leaping off of the raised stage, she bent to grab her gym bag, pausing momentarily to rifle through the zippered pocket until she found what she was looking for. With a triumphant smile, she tossed something white at Caroline, saying, "By the way, there's part of your cut. Elena stuffed the rest in the vault." With a saucy flip of her brunette curls, she flashed out of the arena, leaving behind a seething blonde vampire and a smug hybrid.

Klaus smirked, ducking his head almost shyly as he moved closer into Caroline's space. "What a wealth of knowledge your friend is, sweetheart."

"Don't read too much into it, Klaus. Kat's a notorious liar." She started toying with the necklace that Kat had thrown to her, nibbling on her lower lip.

Upon closer inspection, Klaus realized that it was a long strand of pearls. He asked curiously, "What did she mean by your cut?"

Shrugging, she was trying and failing to keep her tone disinterested as she explained, "When my girls and I were taking care of things last night on the river —"

Klaus quickly cut her off with a cocky interjection of, "When you and your underlings rushed to protect me and my family."

Rolling her eyes, she continued moodily, "We took care of business and I realized we were near the Old Spanish Trail where the pirate Jean Lafitte supposedly hid a large cache of treasure. A quick summoning spell and an educated guess about a gum tree grove and we are suddenly going to have an even more spectacular business quarter than before," she said boastfully, rolling the milk-white beads between her thumb and forefinger.

He saw through her careful ploy of downplaying what she had done for him and his family. He picked up her hand that held the pearls and delicately kissed her knuckles. "Thank you, Caroline," he mumbled against her ivory skin in the humblest tone he could manage.

Her calculating blue gaze studied him as she said quietly, "You're welcome." Before he could respond, she reached up with both hands to pull his face to hers, kissing him with a ferocious passion that was pure Caroline. She quickly fisted her small hands into his dark Henley, yanking it over his head in one fluid move. With a sexy little growl, she pushed at his sculpted abs, making him fall to the padded stage floor with a muted thud.

His gray eyes darkened with lust as she flashed on top of him, straddling his shins as she went to work on his jeans in an almost feverish frenzy to reach his skin. The coolness of her touch inexplicably inflamed his hybrid skin even further, stoking his need for her. She tugged at his unzipped jeans, pulling them off with a flourish before oddly resettling upon his shins. That was not where he needed her pert little cheeks to be resting. Growling in frustration, he said roughly, "Sweetheart, I'll need you to be a bit closer."

Caroline flashed him a seductive grin. She ran both palms up his legs, stopping a few teasing inches below his aching pelvis. "Shhh, be a good boy and you'll get a treat. Be a bad boy and only I will get a treat," she cooed in a feathery voice that rendered him helpless under her ministrations. He nodded eagerly, unable to help the way that his erection sprang to attention as her fingers firmly kneaded his thighs.

Taking his silence as an open invitation, she leaned forward, producing the long strand of pearls that Kat had given her, clacking the beads between her nimble fingers as she maintained her determined blue stare. She trailed the necklace along his twitching thighs, halting at the base of his erection. Without a word, she engulfed him with her red lips, causing him to give a strangled shout at the suddenness of her seductive attack. As quickly as she took him into her warm, wet mouth, she released him, causing him to emit a helpless little cry.

She licked her lips as though savoring his taste and then surprised him even more when she wrapped the strand of pearls around his thick cock. She held them in place with both hands, sliding the hard little orbs up and down his shaft in a torturously slow pattern that had rendered him speechless. He had never had his sensitive flesh encased in such a manner and he groaned at the erotic sight before him. The only sound that could be heard above their panting bodies was the sensual noise of the clinking pearls as they rubbed against each other upon his member.

Klaus could feel the tension coiling within, and he furiously tried to hold off his release, wanting to prologue this sweet ecstasy as long as possible. As though sensing his turmoil, Caroline tightened the beads near his tip, allowing them to pinch and pull in a pleasurable pain that made the black veins crawl under his eyes and his hybrid fangs appear.

"That's it, just a little more," Caroline encouraged in a voice tinged with excitement. One final tug of her hands brought forth his orgasm, spurting over her hands and the pearls as she furiously stroked him through his release. When his flesh stopped shivering, she carefully unwound the necklace, straightening her toned body as she favored him with a delicious little wink. Making sure he was watching, she wrapped her long tongue around some of the soaked beads, rolling them around in her mouth as she moaned in pleasure.

The sexy picture his blonde vixen presented was too much to handle, and with a snarl, he had her flipped onto her stomach as he loomed over her. He easily tore off her printed leggings and grabbed the wet necklace that had been tossed to the side. "I do believe it's your turn for a treat, love," he rumbled.

He delighted in how her round cheeks seemed to tremble in anticipation of what he had planned. He leaned closer, whispering in her ear, "Now be a good girl and spread for me." At her eager compliance, he smirked and reached under her sweat-slicked body to cup her mound with one hand. He could feel his cock coming back to life, and he took shallow breaths to stave off his own desires for a bit longer. When he failed to explore her further with his fingers, she let out an impatient whine and began circling her hips in an obvious bid to spur his actions.

He wrapped the strand of pearls around his other palm and startled her with a series of smacks against her backside that made her squeal. "Naughty girl, trying to toy with me," he rasped, "When you know very well that it's my turn to play." At his forceful tone, she stopped wiggling her hips and he rewarded her by spreading her cheeks and sliding his fingertips in the crevice, barely brushing them against her flushed skin before abruptly removing them. He held the ends of the necklace between his index fingers, pulling the strand taut before rubbing it across her sensitive slit.

"Klaus," she groaned, rising on her toned arms to push her hips back into his exploring fingers, allowing him to dip the pearls into her dripping core and quivering anus. He pulled the strand along her sensitive flesh, rolling the smooth beads against her delicate clit, causing her to buck wildly against his hands.

Realizing she was close to completion, he threw aside the necklace and positioned his aching tip against her weeping center. With one forceful shove, he merged their bodies, bringing out cries of ecstasy from them both. He flexed his hips, pulling her onto his thick erection with a satisfied grunt. She was a ferocious little demon who pressed her curves back against his, making his eyes roll into the back of his head. With one final push against his body, she increasing the sweet pressure of his strokes until they both let go with guttural sighs torn from their throats.

They collapsed beside each other on the stage, panting and sweating as they caught their breath. Under the brilliant colored lights, he admired the glow of her ivory flesh and caught her own lustful gaze as she drank in his body.

Tentatively, Klaus ventured, "About Were-Wrestling Wars…"

"What about it," Caroline asked sharply, clearly gearing up to finish their argument.

"I have yet to secure a venue for my sporting event side project and the mayor's office seemed shockingly resistant to granting my business permit. Perhaps you know of a venue that would be willing to host my events once or twice a week," he asked with a knowing smirk.

She rolled on top of him, planting an elbow on either side of his damp curls. Leaning dangerously close to his lips, she demanded, "Twenty grand per event — up front. I also want 20% of the action and another 10% goes to my ghouls."

He cocked an eyebrow and answered in an amused tone, "You seem to have already given this some thought, sweetheart."

With a cheeky grin, Caroline answered, "I may have already had my marketing team work up a few promotional logos for merchandising." In a more serious voice she said, "Of course, I expect an exclusive contract with several non-negotiable terms."

Klaus favored her with a seductive smile, suddenly flipping them over so that he loomed over her once more. He trailed teasing kisses down the column of her ivory throat as he growled, "I think we can come to a favorable arrangement, love."